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March 17, 1964 R. B. BENDER COMBINATION INSULATING GUARD AND WIRE SUSPENDED ANODE Filed Feb. 26, 1962 v RICHARD B. BENDER I N VE N TOR ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,125,499 CQMBINATION INSULATING GUARD AND WIRE SUSPENDED ANGDE Richard B. Bender, R0. Box 11302, Fort Worth, Tex. Filed Feb. 26, 1962, Ser. No. 175,638 2 Claims. (Cl. 204-197) This invention relates to cathodic protection and has reference to insulators for protecting strings of cylindrical anodes suspended in metal tanks.

Although the invention may be used to advantage in various types of tanks, it is particularly useful in Water tanks where at least one string of anodes is suspended in a stand-pipe and is thus subjected to the turbulence of water pumped into the tank and discharged therefrom. Under such conditions the anodes contact the inner wall of the standpipe and cause a short in the imposed electrical circuit. Some standpipes have metal ladder rungs therein, further increasing the possibility of shorting, and, from a practical standpoint, it is nearly impossible to suspend a string of anodes in the true axial center of the standpipe to reduce the likelihood of shorting.

Since the conductor wires, which are usually copper, must be insulated from the water in the tank or standpipe, the assembly of wire and anodes is not practical at the place of installation. However, insulators comprising the present invention may not be required at all installations; thus, it is preferable to install the present insulators in the field as the need may arise.

An object of the invention is to provide insulators and bumper guards for anodes suspended in vertical strings within metal tanks.

A particular object of the invention is to provide insulators and bumper guards which may be applied to anodes in the field without disconnecting the suspend ing conductor wires.

Another object of the invention is to provide bumper guards for anodes which will not impair the eificiency of the latter.

These and other objects will become apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention mounted on a suspended anode.

FIGURE 2 is a broken vertical sectional view of a water tank and standpipe and showing the first form of the invention installed therein.

FIGURE 3 is an elewational view of the first form of the invention prior to installation.

FIGURE 4 is an elevational view of a second form of the invention prior to mounting on an anode.

FIGURE 5 is a vertical sectional view of the second form of the invention mounted on an anode.

'FIGURE 6 is a broken plan View of FIGURE 1, and

FIGURE 7 is a broken elevational view of a further modified form of the invention including diagonal cuts in the ends thereof to accommodate the suspending wire and whereby the insulators or bumper guards may be applied to the individual anodes independently of adjacent anodes.

A typical installation is shown in FIGURE 2 wherein cylindrical anodes 10 are connected in a length of suspended insulated conductor wire 11 which extends into the standpipe 12 of a water tank 13. In large standpipes 12 there may be inwardly projecting ladder rungs 14.

An insulator and bumper guard 15 comprising a preferred form of the invention, FIGURES 1, 2, 3 and 6, is made of a length of tubular bendable dielectric synthetic resin, for example, polyvinyl chloride, each length being greater than the length of the anode it is to protect. Each insulator 15 is longitudinally slotted between its ends, as at 16, to provide parallel bars 17 therearound. Alternate bars 17 are transversely slotted near their alternate ends, as at 18, to provide laterally extending spacer arms 17a at each end and inwardly projecting anode engaging clips 17b. The cylindrical anode 10 is loosely received in the insulator 15 and the clips 17b engage the ends thereof. By reason of the deformable characteristic of the insulators 15, the arms 17a and clips 17b may be bent outwardly and inwardly, respectively, at the installation location.

The form of the invention illustrated in FIGURES 4 and 5 is for installation in small diameter standpipes and is identical with the foregoing except that the spacing arms 17a are eliminated and additional inwardly projecting anode engaging clips 1712 are provided instead. The further modified form of the invention illustrated in FIGURE 7 is applicable to eitherof the first two described forms of the invention and includes diagonal cuts 19 in the ends thereof and connecting with one of the longitudinal slots 16 whereby the insulator 15 may be caused to receive the conductor wire between anodes 1t} and then moved longitudinally to enclose one of the latter, after which the clips 1% are pressed inwardly to engage the anode ends as shown in FIGURES l and 5.

The operation of all forms of the invention shown or described is substantially the same. The installed insulators 15 present relatively small additional resistance to fiow of water in the standpipe and prevent electrical contact therewith. Moreover, by reason of the open construction of the insulators 15, and by reason of their loosely fitting the anodes 10, there is no effective shielding which might impair efiiciency. As shown in the foregoing, the insulators 15 may be installed at the water tank site without removing insulation from the conductor wire on which the anodes are suspended.

The invention is not limited to the exemplary construction herein shown and described, but may be made in various ways within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination:

a cylindrical anode suspended at one end on a conductor,

.a tubular body of deformable dielectric material loosely receiving said anode, the length of said anode being less than the length of said body,

said body including spaced longitudinal openings between the ends thereof, and

inwardly directed clips integral with said body at the ends of said openings and positioned to engage the ends of said anode.

2. The combination defined in claim 1, and including:

outwardly projecting spacer arms of dielectric material adjacent at least one end of said body.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,608,709 Mills Nov. 30, 1926 2,145,759 Fellows et al. Ian. 31, '1939 2,643,327 Macklenar June 23, 1953 2,882,213 Douglas Apr. 14, 1959 2,944,608 Rush July 12, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,015,695 France Aug. 6, 1952 

1. IN COMBINATION: A CYLINDRICAL ANODE SUSPENDED AT ONE END ON A CONDUCTOR, A TUBULAR BODY OF DEFORABLE DIELECTRIC MATERIAL LOOSELY RECEIVING SAID ANODE, THE LENGTH OF SAID ANODE BEING LESS THAN THE LENGTH OF SAID BODY, SAID BODY INCLUDING SPACED LONGITUDINAL OPENINGS BETWEEN THE ENDS THEREOF, AND INWARDLY DIRECTED CLIPS INTEGRAL WITH SAID BODY AT THE ENDS OF SAID OPENINGS AND POSITIONED TO ENGAGE THE ENDS OF SAID ANODE. 